Home for the Lost Souls
by Colourful Darkness
Summary: Tinkerbell is banished to Neverland, where she meets a boy as lost as she is. Felix and Tinkerbell pairing.
1. Wingless

**Home for the Lost Souls**

_A/N: So I've got this theory that Felix is actually good (he didn't seem to be affected by the music like the other lost boys were). So, now, I'm shipping Felix and Tinkerbell together even though it would most likely never happen on the show. Please read & review. Tell me what you guys think._

Before she fell, she was floating. Drifting in the brightest green light she could have imagined. It was only a light, yet it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. At first Tinkerbell thought it was a figment of her imagination but she couldn't control it. The light was like an ocean; there was so much of it. She was bathing in light, rolling around in it and slowly drowning. It took all her unconscious strength to keep her head above the surface. That's when she realised she was not floating but hanging, clinging to an edge. She was clinging not because she's stubborn but because she was afraid of what lies below.

"Let go," said a mellifluous voice. Tinkerbell looked up to see the Blue Fairy hovering above her; her wings beating gently.

"I can't," cried Tinkerbell, even though she knew she could not hold on for much longer. "I will fall. I don't have my wings. Y-you took them away from me…"

"So?" said Blue. "Fall."

"But I'll die…"

"No," said Blue. "You will not die Tinkerbell."

"How do you know?"

"Because below you is a void to a portal; a portal that will take you to your exile…far away…you are banished from the Enchanted Forest and you are no longer are a true fairy.

A single tear slid down Tinkerbell's cheek, warm and wet.

"Please Blue; I can make it up to you." The plea was desperate. Honest. Frightened. "Just give me another chance…just don't send me away."

"You've already had your chance," said Blue harshly. Swallowing her tears, Tinkerbell looked down at the open portal beneath her. If only she had her wings, she could fly away.

She looked up at Blue, her lips trembling.

"Blue?" she asked tentatively. "Where does this portal lead?"

"A land for all the lost souls," replied Blue. Her face was impassive as stone. "Neverland." _Never Never Neverland._

Tremulously, Tinkerbell loosened her grip until she was falling into the light; tumbling through a cataleptic void, until she landed lightly, almost weightlessly in a strange, dark forest. The light faded away, leaving Tinkerbell alone. Trees surrounded her; looking like old men, with their grey beards and moss infected bark. She swore the leaves were conversing to each other in a language she couldn't understand. It was raining too. She hated it. It hardly rained back at home. _Home. _It was long a mermaid song that tugged at her heart strings.

She was alone.

_Helpless._

_Broken._

_Wingless. _

Numbly, Tinkerbell lowered herself to the forest floor, her legs too shaky and weak to hold her weight. Resting her head on a soft bed of leaves, she released shuddering breaths, as she thought of her banishment, Regina's betrayal and the loss of her beloved wings.

Tinkerbell's soaked body trembled both from the horrific realisation that she was no longer a fairy and the chill of Neverland's rain.

Tinkerbell let herself cry.

Wrapping her arms around her torso, she rocked back and forth and sobbed, howling like a wounded animal.

She was lost.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed like that –crying in the forest, with the wind whipping her skin with cutting stings and the rain pounding down on her. Her brain became muggy with grief and she felt like she had submerged her head under the darkest of waters. Everything, even the rain, sounded distant and far away. It was only with dim realisation that she heard footsteps but she was too deep in despair to acknowledge the new comer. Instead she hugged herself tighter and cried.

A large, lean shadow fell over her and she looked up, her stinging eyes making out a figure of a tall boy through the pouring rain, with a club clutched in one large hand.

He was going to kill her.

She was going to die.

She didn't care. Her life felt like death anyway. She had died the day she lost her wings. Real death would be a release.

"Girl," said a drawling voice. "What's your name?"

Tink ignored him. She couldn't stop the tears that flowed down her face.

Suddenly she felt the weight of warm arms around her shoulders, the smell of earth and the forest, and then suddenly the boy's sturdy arms scooped her up, bridal style, cradling her tired body against his solid chest. Too weak to fight him, she allowed him to carry her through the rain, his whispered words of reassurance barely registered in her head.

She closed her eyes; feeling Neverland's strange temperature and magic get the better of her. She dozed off and when she awoke, she was lying in a makeshift bed on a wooden floor. Dazed, she sat up. The blonde haired boy was there, chewing a tooth pick between his front teeth. She backed away from him.

"Where am I?" she whispered, surveying him with wide frightened eyes.

"In my tree house," he replied, analysing her just as critically. There was a pregnant pause, and then, he asked for the second time – "What's your name?"

"Tinkerbell," she whispered.

"Tink, eh?" he said, giving her a nickname already. She was about to ask for his name, but she was too scared, she didn't have the courage to form words, and her heart hurt, but she didn't need to ask, for a gentle whisper flooded across the tree house towards where she sat huddled in the furthest corner.

"I'm Felix."

_Another A/N: So this takes place after Tink gets her wings taken away and how I imagined she ended up in Neverland. Any thoughts? Continue or not?_


	2. The Tree house

Tinkerbell sat huddled in the furthest corner of the tree house, her arms wrapped around her knees. She was still trembling from the rain; her tiny green dress clinging to her skin, wet and cold.

From a distant, she watched Felix. He was the most unusual boy she had ever seen – tall, long-nosed with hair the colour of sand.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Tink," said Felix. He was leaning lazily against the far wall. "Please, come out from the corner…your cold…I can see you shivering…I got blankets here…" He picked up a blanket from his makeshift bed. It looked so warm, snuggly and soft and Tinkerbell so badly wanted to take it. But she didn't.

"C'mon, Tink," repeated Felix, stepping tentatively towards her and holding out the blanket. "Please just take it…you're going to catch a cold."

When she still didn't take the offer, Felix threw the blanket at her and it soared across the room. Instinctively, she caught it. It seemed she hadn't lost her fairy reflexes even though she had lost her wings.

Frantically, she wrapped the blanket around her trembling body, feelings its scratchiness and warmth caress her cold skin.

"So how'd you get to Neverland?" asked Felix, watching her tuck the blanket around her tiny body. His kind but analytical eyes made her feel naked and vulnerable. "The shadow didn't take you did it?"

Tink frowned. What was he talking about? What shadow?

"I usually know when the shadow comes back with a person…and I'm pretty sure he didn't come back with you…" Felix smiled; suddenly realising that he was talking more to himself than to her.

He looked out of the tree house window, watching tiny raindrops plop from the leaves. Tink had never seen such crystalized raindrops. They shimmered like diamonds. It was the most beautiful rain she had ever witnessed.

"I was banished here," whispered Tink. Felix spun around and looked at her, surprised that she had finally spoken. "I was thrown into a portal…this land is my exile."

"Banished?" repeated Felix. "What did you do?"

"I was a bad fairy," murmured Tink, feeling tears well up in her eyes again. She tried to blink them away, but instead they ran down her cheeks, leaving a wet trail behind them

Felix eyes widened like coins – "You're a fairy."

"Was a fairy," corrected Tink. "Not any more…got no fairy dust, no wings…no home." She choked on a strangled sob but continued on, her back of her hand pressed tightly to her mouth. "I am _nothing_ anymore."

Before she knew it, before she could comprehend anything, Felix leaped across the room and landed beside her, kneeling next to her but not quite close enough to touch her.

Part of her wished that he did. Strangely, she had felt safe in his arms when he had carried her through the dark forest.

"Hey there, Tink," murmured Felix. "There's no need to cry…this can be your home now…"

"You mean I can live with you in this tree house?"

"If you wish."

Tinkerbell looked around at the tree house, truly seeing it for the first time. There was one lonely makeshift bed; a row of spears, and other strange weapons lined the walls, bowls of pottery and ceramic were all piled together in one corner and a woven reef of flowers. She could see Felix's life in the item that he had collected.

"Were you banished here too?" asked Tink, looking at him from beneath her long wet eyelashes.

"No," said Felix as he sat down more comfortably beside her. "The shadow came and took me when I was a young boy. I was an orphan you see…had no family…no love…and one day the shadow took me here. It gave me a new family."

"There are more people that live here?" asked Tink, wondering how a whole family could fit into this tiny tree house.

Felix laughed. "Not in here, I live here by myself…but my friends…well they move camp constantly. I'd like you to meet them; that's if you'd like that."

Tinkerbell swallowed, her mind reeling with a maelstrom of thoughts and emotions. Suddenly she stared at Felix; her eyes now dry.

"I'd like that," she said. "If I am to spend the rest of my life here, I'd like to have many friends."

Felix grinned at her and she smiled back.

Tink leant against the wooden wall and listened to the incessant sound of rain hammering onto the tree house roof. "Felix?

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for being my first friend in this strange, strange land."

"You're welcome, Tink."


	3. Dance in the night

Tinkerbell followed Felix through the forest. They walked until the sky turned from a vibrant orange and pink, to blue and then to an inky black. The sun had disappeared. They had been walking for hours and now it was night.

Felix stopped suddenly and Tink nearly crashed into him. His face was the definition of freedom; his eyes lit by the moon peering through the trees. It truly was an awe-inspiring scene. Felix began to climb up a steep rocky slope and hastily Tinkerbell followed, wishing more than anything that she still had her wings.

"You doing all right?" asked Felix, looking behind as he clambered up the modest mountain.

"I think so," said Tink, sticking her foot in a crevice and hauling herself up.

"You're doing great," said Felix. "Here." He held out a hand and helped over a couple of colossal boulders.

"How old are you?" asked Tink. He was still holding her small hand between his warm, callous one. The movement of his fingers sent nice shivers through her body.

"You really wanna know?"

"Yes."

"112," said Felix, "but let's just call it seventeen."

Tink laughed as he gently dragged her up the final ledge.

"Here we are," said Felix with a huff, helping her to her feet. "I'd like you to meet the Lost Boys." Wide eyed, Tinkerbell evaluated her surroundings. On top of the mountain, huddled around a camp fire were a group of young boys, dressed in earth-streaked clothing.

"What's this Felix?" said an unfamiliar voice. "You've brought a guest?"

One of the boys stood up. He was tiny but held his head high with undeniably superiority.

Felix swallowed.

"Yes," he replied thickly, pulling Tinkerbell close to his side. "This is Tinkerbell…and Tink…this is Peter Pan…our leader."

Tinkerbell eyed Peter Pan. He looked like no leader.

"It's unusual to see girls in Neverland," said Pan, stepping closer. His eyes roamed over her torn green garments, her wild hair, and her small frame. "But you're no real girl are you?" asked Pan, raising a commanding eyebrow. "You're a fairy."

"Was a fairy," Tink corrected for what felt like the billionth time.

Pan laughed sardonically. "Never forget it Tinkerbell that once upon a time, you were a fairy." Abruptly, Pan turned his attention to Felix, and said, "Why'd you bring the fairy to our camp."

"I thought she could become a part of the family," replied Felix coolly. "She's a lost girl now."

Pan's eyes flashed. "We don't need no mother Felix!"

"She isn't –" began Felix, but Peter cut him off.

"But she is," he cried. "All girls are mothers…they have that maternal instinct, that kind, nurturing nature –"

"Which some of the boys need," retorted Felix, looking at the younger boys that were huddled around the fire. Pan face was impassive but then broke into a broad smile. He slapped Felix on the back heartily.

"Right you are Felix," he said loudly. "Tinkerbell is welcome to come and nurture the boys with her girlish whims every evening, but she is not to spend her days with us, nor is she to camp with us…she can stay in your tree house for all I care Felix...you can use her as a playmate."

Tink tensed and she felt Felix's arm tightened around hers. She felt sick with fear and anxiety, berating herself for how quickly she had trusted Felix and the lost boys.

"I understand," said Felix.

"Good," said Pan with a smile. "Come Tink; let's officially welcome you as the part time mother for the lost boys." Pan dragged her away from Felix and sat next to her on a fallen log, "but first I'd like to play a little song." He took out a pipe from his tunic and showed it to her.

"Do you know what this is, Tink?"

Tinkerbell stared at the pipe, recognizing its carved engravings and the magic it possessed.

"Yes," she whispered. It was the pipe that led boys astray, the pipe that could tell her if she felt loved or not.

Pan smiled and pressed the pipe to his lips. "I'd like to play you a welcome song," he murmured.

Then suddenly, he began to play a beautiful, angelic melody. It was as loud as chimes. It sounded happy.

The boys that were sitting around the fire leaped to their feet excitedly and began to dance. Felix joined them, still chewing a tooth pick between his teeth.

Feeling slightly drugged with magic, the music enchanted her and Tinkerbell got to her feet as well. Her movements were slower than the boys. She was a like a new fawn, taking its first steps on a new land. Tinkerbell was lost in the music. She felt freer than she had ever felt. Her feet moved languidly and she lifted her arms, while her body swayed with the music. In a blur, Felix was dancing beside her. Tinkerbell swirled so close to him, fluttered around him on light toes. She allowed the sensuality of the dance to guide her movements. Felix's eyes followed her movements, and suddenly, almost aggressively he grabbed her and pulled her close to him, so their bodies moved together.

They danced like there was no tomorrow, with the dim realisation that neither of them was loved.

**A/N: Happy Halloween to you all. Even though we don't celebrate Halloween in Australia, I still went to a party and dressed up as a fairy – no surprises there. Anyway hope you all had a great Halloween. In regards to the story, I know that Felix didn't dance on the show, but I'll explain that in upcoming chapters. Hope you're all liking my take on this Tink/Felix fanfic. Lots of love - CD**


	4. Faith, trust and pixie dust

Puffed and exhausted, Tinkerbell collapsed near the fire. She watched Felix dance with the other boys. He moved with a grace uncommon for a boy, and Tinkerbell couldn't draw her eyes away.

"You to be our mother, uh?" said a boy, lazing next to the fire.

"I guess so," said Tink uncertainly. "But here's a secret: I don't know anything about being a mother."

"Mmm, then how are you going be one?" the boy asked.

"I don't know," said Tink truthfully, curling her hands in her lap.

"Can you tell stories?" asked the boy.

"Of course," said Tink. "Everyone can tell stories."

"Tell me one."

"Um, okay."

A long time ago, Tinkerbell learnt that true storytelling came from the soul. It was not about literary technicality or fancy words – it was about emotion. True, honest emotion.

"Once upon a time," she began in a soft voice. "There was a clan of fairies that lived underground. The mother fairy was expecting a child; a daughter and everybody was joyful, until the day of the birth – something terrible happened."

"What?" the boy asked clearly absorbed in the story.

"The baby fairy was born without wings. They called the baby Rosette and she lived a hard life, watching as her friends and family flew around, while she was stuck on the ground. Feeling isolated and alone, Rosette ran away from home and searched for magic to make her fly. She searched far and wide until she found a good fairy that gave her some pixie dust. 'I want to fly,' she said and the fairy replied, 'all it takes is faith and trust, and a little bit of pixie dust.' So Rosette took the dust and sprinkled it on herself, and she believed so much that she thought her chest would burst, when suddenly she felt her feet lift off the ground. She was flying. And from then on, she could fly as long as she thought a happy thought."

"That's a load of tosh." Peter Pan's voice broke through. Tinkerbell glared at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Is it?" she asked coolly.

"Yes," he replied. "No one without wings has ever been able to fly. It's all make-believe."

_You have no idea_, Tinkerbell though bitterly.

"Don't you ever do that, Peter?" she asked. "Make up stories, so they seem real?"

Peter Pan looked away, avoiding the question.

"Go away, Tink," he said abruptly. "You are not to camp with us. Felix! Take your playmate home." Felix came over and took her hand. "C'mon Tink."

Tinkerbell allowed Felix to lead her away, when suddenly she heard the voice of the boy – "thank you for the story." She turned back and smiled. "You're welcome. What's your name?"

"Curly," the boy replied.

"It's nice to meet you Curly." She waved Curly goodbye, before following Felix back through the trees and towards the mountains edge.

"Can I show you something?" Tinkerbell whispered, standing at the edge of the cliff.

"Sure," said Felix. "Does this have something to do with the story you were telling Curly."

"Yes," she said, "but you have to promise me never to tell Pan; I don't trust him."

"Of course."

Tinkerbell reached under the hem of her dress for her sack of fairy dust. Although Blue had confiscated most of it, she still had a speck, and it was enough. She threw the dust over them.

"Take me hand," she told Felix. He did. He wrapped his large fingers around hers. "Just trust me…jump off this cliff with me…I promise you won't fall."

"Are you insane?"

She smiled tightly. "Please, just trust me."

Felix swallowed and nodded, allowing her to pull him towards the ledge. Before giving him the chance to change his mind, Tink leapt off the cliff, dragging Felix along with her. _All it takes is faith and trust, and a little bit of pixie dust. _

They flew. The feeling was incredible. She missed it so much. The wind rushing through her body, urging her skywards. She laughed and gripped Felix's hand tighter, and together they flew over a dark lagoon, across the forest, nearly scraping the tree tops.

Tinkerbell glanced at Felix. He wore the largest smile on his face as he looked around in wonder. They flew lower; the trees seemed to jump out of their way as they passed by.

Together, they both soared through the open window of Felix's tree house and landed lightly, almost weightlessly on the wooden floor.

"Wow. That was incredible," said Felix, once he had come to his senses. Tinkerbell only grinned.

Laughing, he rolled onto his makeshift bed. He had such a beautiful laugh. It made her giddy.

The moon was high in the inky sky now. It looked like an iridescent lantern.

Felix leant on his elbows to look up at her. "I only have one bed," he said softly.

"That's okay," began Tink. "I-I can sleep on the floor."

"No…please just sleep with me…no…I don't mean it like…just share my bed with me…Neverland's nights are extremely cold…I promise I don't bite, Tink."

Tinkerbell stared at him, wondering if he was joking.

"Trust me?" he murmured.

That made her feel bad. He had trusted her. Trusted her enough to jump off a cliff. Slowly she walked over to the makeshift bed and joined him under the covers. They laid facing each other but not quite touching.

"You know?" said Felix. "Even though I met you yesterday, I feel like I've known you for a long time."

"Me too."

"I know a lot of bad stuffs happened to you…but do you think you could be happy here."

"Yes," she said. "It's not the story I imagined, and truthfully that's okay. Maybe, all along, this was supposed to be my happy ending."


	5. Broken trust

When Tinkerbell woke up the next morning something felt wrong. She sensed it; the feeling seeping through her veins and vaguely registering in her mind. The first thing she did was check the limited supply of dust she kept in her pouch beneath the hems of her torn and dirty dress. It was gone.

She sat up with a jolt and looked around wildly.

"Felix?" she cried, "my fairy dust…it's gone…" she broke off into nothingness, trying to keep the approaching sobs at bay. Felix was standing in the corner, hunched over, with his customary toothpick between his teeth. He didn't say anything.

"Felix?" repeated Tinkerbell tentatively as dread filled every bone in her body.

"I was part of it," he said, ashamed. "I told Pan you had dust and he came in the night and took it."

The blood drained from her face. "Get out," she said. She was so absorbed in her own anger that she barely registered that she was ordering him out of his own treehouse.

"Tink," he said, taking a step forward.

"Get OUT!" Tinkerbell grabbed one of the pottery vases threw it across the room and it shattered into a million pieces. "I HATE YOU!"

Felix heaved as though his breath had been knocked out of him. When he didn't move, Tinkerbell turned around with celerity and rounded on him like a lioness stalking her prey.

"You knew," she shrieked, clawing her nails at Felix. "You knew I didn't trust Pan and you told him anyway –"

Felix grabbed her wrist with his hands and wrestled them away from his face. He held her wrist tightly as she attempted to strike him again.

"Tink listen to me."

"I will _never_ listen to you again," she hissed, as she tried to pull away from his grasp, yet Felix was too strong for her. "Let me go," she said, struggling against his hold. "Let me go."

Felix ignored her. "It really killed me to tell Pan, but I had to…cause now Pan will let you happily stay in Neverland…he will even protect you…giving the fairy dust to him makes you a true lost girl now. I did it because I wanted you to have a proper home. I didn't have a choice."

"You always have a choice," Tinkerbell retorted, her voice as cold as ice. "Tell me Felix, how long have you been planning to give the dust to Pan? Since the moment I showed you? Or a couple of damn hours after?"

A muscle in his jaw tightened and he looked away. "Since the moment you made me fly."

Tinkerbell let out a scream as she attempted to push him away. He didn't fight back as she pounded his chest with her fist and shoved him forcefully against the wall of the treehouse.

"I trusted you," she screeched. "I trusted you…what a fool I was."

"Tink, listen to me," said Felix, grabbing her wrist again to defend himself from her blows. "Allying you with Pan with give you the greatest chance of survival in Neverland."

For a moment, Tinkerbell stood still but Felix didn't let her go. She glared at him unblinkingly before throwing back her head and letting out a wild, savage laugh. Never had she felt so vicious and less fairy-like.

"So you did it for my greater good?" asked Tinkerbell sarcastically.

Felix swallowed the rising lump in his throat. "Yes."

Impassively, Tinkerbell yanked her small body away from his and headed towards the treehouse ladder.

"Where are you going?" asked Felix, grabbing her wrist and pulling her roughly back to him.

"To find a new home. I'm not living here with you. I'll sleep in the jungle for all I care," she said. "Now let me go!"

Felix didn't move. Tink clawed at him with her nails but this only made him tightened his grip on her with both hands.

"Let me go,' she repeated, attempting to strike him again. He ignored her.

"Let me go!" she shrieked.

Suddenly she gave a broken cry and the fight inside her waned. Her knees gave way beneath her and Felix caught her in his arms. She buried her face against his chest. She was sobbing so hard, so inarticulate with sorrow, repeating the same words over and over again – "Oh God, I miss home so much." Vaguely his hoarsely whispered apologies barely registered in her head as he cradled her body to his.

"I'm sorry…oh Tink…I'm so sorry."


	6. Forgiveness

They didn't speak to one another in days, beside the common curtsies of 'how are you,' 'excuse me,' 'thank you,' and 'goodnight.' Tinkerbell's sturdy silence and solemn gaze made Felix feel worse than he already did. The only reassurance he found was the fact that Tink still slept in his tree house, on the floor in the furthest corner, and that Pan, finally included Tink as part of the lost family, like a true and equal member.

It was on the sixth night of consecutive silence that Felix finally snapped – she would have to forgive him at one point – this childish game of fake friendliness couldn't go on forever, could it?

"Do you believe in second chances, Tink?" he asked from across the room. Tinkerbell was weaving a blanket made of leaves with her soft fingers, her tongue glued to the roof of her mouth as she worked. Felix was struck, for the hundredth time by how beautiful she looked. Were all fairies like that?

Tinkerbell looked up from her project, the needle poised over the fabric.

"I believe in third and fourth chances, Felix." The sound of his name rolled off her tongue in a funny but alluring accent.

"Then you'll give me a second chance, right?"

She stared at him, her eyes widening like coins.

"Haven't I already forgiven you?" she snapped, not bothering to hide the annoyance in her voice. She didn't want to talk about this now. In fact, she didn't want to ever talk about the fact that his betrayal was like a knife in her back.

"Is this silent treatment your way of saying you forgive me?" he asked.

Tinkerbell pursed her lips and threw her hands in the air. The needle fell to the floor with a clink.

"What do you want me to say?" she retorted. "That I'm angry, that I'm hurt…that I'm also grateful that you helped persuade Pan into letting me be a part of your family, that you've given me shelter and food…that I'm so overwhelmed by conflicting emotions that I can hardly think straight, let alone think about you." She stopped suddenly as though she had gone too far. "What do you want me to say Felix?" she whispered again.

"That you don't hate me."

"I don't hate you," she said.

"Now you're just saying that because that's what I want to hear," said Felix.

"No," she said. "I never say anything I don't truly mean."

"You don't hate me?" repeated Felix as though his ears were deceiving him.

"I don't," she reaffirmed.

"You don't?" he asked again, his smile widening and lightening up his face, particularly his queer eyes.

"For Peter's sake, I don't hate you. I don't particularly like you anymore, but I don't hate you either."

"Fantastic," said Felix brightly. He paused and stared at her for a moment, before continuing on, "and sorry if I suck at talking to you…you see there are hardly no girls in Neverland…I have to refine my manners and chivalry, but I will make it up to you Tink."

Tink smiled tightly.

"There is something you could do…" she began, picking up her needle from the wooden floor, where she had discarded it moments before.

"What?"

"Get me some more weaving vines and leaves."

"As my Lady Bell wishes," said Felix, with a mock bow. Tinkerbell hadn't seen him so happy in days. He leapt over to the ladder and began to descent, but in a few seconds, his head bobbed up the hole again, grinning at her.

"Tink, does wild rabbit sound okay for dinner?" His gentle-manish tone had vanished as quickly as it had come.

Tink smiled. "That sounds perfect."

She watched him descent the ladder again, butterflies forming in her stomach at the sight of his beautiful crooked smile.


	7. Felix tries

Things got better after that. They talked. Ate dinner. Talked some more. But despite Felix's best efforts, Tinkerbell was still homesick. The feeling gnawed at her innards and sometimes made her cry. Felix noticed. He always noticed.

"Hey," he said, sitting down beside her. "How are you? Are you okay?"

Tinkerbell stared at him, wide-eyed, and then she surprised herself with her reply. "I'm not okay," she whispered. "How are you?"

"I'm not okay," he replied.

Tinkerbell blinked. "Why? What's wrong?"

"How can I be okay when you're not okay?" he said. Tinkerbell bit her lip, keeping the approaching sobs at bay.

"I will be okay," she said. "Just give me time."

"Okay," said Felix. "But I just want you to know that when you are in this tree house, cold and alone that I am standing here, cold and alone too, hoping that you will be happy again."

"Thank you," said Tink. "Your hopes are inspiring. But your happiness does not depend on my own, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," said Felix. It was a lie of course, and he did his best to make her happy. He was sent here and there, sometimes on long errands through the wind and cold and rain, for food and weaving vines, and came in wet and hungry, but left again, when he knew that Tink wanted to be alone; it hurt him seeing her so unhappy, and sometimes when he had been given harsh words from Pan, and jealous looks from the other lost boys, when there were no rabbits to hunt, and when he too felt homesick, he was not always able to comfort her or himself, with the optimistic thought of a happy ending.


	8. A kiss

As the months went by, Tink's friendship with Felix grew, until she distinguished that she was attracted to the boy with the ashen blonde hair. He was queer but kind.

"Your body is finally getting use to Neverland's weather," commented Felix one night, noticing that she no longer shivered from the evening wind.

"Yes," said Tinkerbell.

"It's a small victory, Tink and we just got to take it."

Tinkerbell wasn't really listening. She was too absorbed in the way his thin lips moved. She wondered what it would be like to kiss those lips. Would he taste like the cherries he ate? Or maybe the wild mushrooms.

"Do you know what a kiss is?" The words blurted from Tink's mouth before she even registered what she was saying. She turned a pale shade of pink.

"You mean a kiss? As in like this?" He pecked her cheek with his lips. A light butterfly kiss that made Tinkerbell's lower abdomen turn warm.

"Yes," murmured Tink. "But I'd very much like it if you kissed me here." She pressed two fingers to her lips. She never knew this brazen part of her existed. What was she getting herself into?

Felix smirked. "As much as I'd love to kiss those delicate lips of yours, I'd fear I'd be taking advantage of you. After all, I haven't seen a girl in almost a decade, and if I kiss you, I might not be able to stop. I've betrayed you Tink…you shouldn't want to kiss me anyway…"

"Oh," said Tink, her temper rising. "Because I haven't lived with you for the past fourth months? Because I haven't seen your work and violence?" She asked sarcastically. "Because I have Felix. I've seen your ways and the power you have over the other lost boys. You're Pan's right hand man, and you'd pick him over me…I get it…but I've also seen the burdens you carry…I may not know about your past, but I've seen your pain, when you sit alone and play with your toothpick at night. I've seen your kindness as you've shown me this world. You've protected me and taught me, and even though we've only met recently, I feel like I know you. Know you well enough to know that I want you. Kiss me. Please?"

So he did. He kissed her gently, cupping one hand on her cheek, holding her so delicately as if he was afraid she'd break. He trailed butterfly kisses across her jaw, before paying attention to her lips again.

Tinkerbell had been wrong. He didn't taste like cherries or mushrooms.

He tasted like nothing she had ever experienced. Whatever it was, it was ecstasy.


End file.
